Preparing for Christmas, UFOs, a New Camera and More

Hi Everyone-

Twas the week before Christmas...
and Jon and I drove to the nearby Pilanesberg Game Reserve this past Saturday. I got a new camera for my birthday and we wanted to practice with it before Jonathan and his girlfriend Ally come for a 2 week holiday on Dec. 27th. We also wanted to make sure we saw lots of zebra because Ally's one hope is to see zebra on her trip. Not only did we see zebra but we saw baby zebras as well. Not to mention some hippos fighting (or playing or courting...we don't know) some baby wart hogs and other amazing animals.

Rhinos enjoying the shade

Mama Zebra and baby scratching on a tree

The breathtaking landscape of Pilanesberg Game Reserve

Hippos Frolicking?

A Blue Wildebeest and her baby

Mama Warthog and her 2 babies

Jonathan and Ally come on Dec. 27 for a 2-week trip as I mentioned before.  We are so excited to have them visit and thanks to our camera-training day at Pilanesberg we feel certain we can find zebras for Ally and take extraordinary amounts of photos for lots of blog updates!  We are going to have a fun-filled 2 weeks of riding in the car! Yes-lots of driving. South Africa is a huge country and we are trying to cover as much as we can in 2 weeks.  Our plan is to drive from Jo-burg to Cape Town. In Cape Town we are going to celebrate the New Year, visit Table Mountain, Boulders Beach (to see the penguins) and drive to the most southern point of the Cape.  We are going from there and driving along the Garden Route to Jeffrey's Bay- the mega hot spot for surfing and spend a few days on the beach. Stay tuned!

Christmas is only a week away but celebrations here are much more subdued than in the US.  No fresh cut trees are available here.  All trees are artificial and a lot of people only put up table top trees or don't put up a tree at all. The climate just isn't suited to growing evergreen trees and South Africa does not want to introduce trees here that are not indigenous, which I understand. Big Christmas light displays are rare and that is probably a good thing.  Too many Christmas lights would probably strain the power grid and leave us in the dark all of December! Father Christmas (Santa Claus) is available for photos at the malls for three days before Christmas only.  People do buy gifts and host Christmas dinners with turkey and ham (which South Africans call gammons) but there isn't the month long build-up and over-the-top decorating like we have at home. I miss that! We are the only home in our neighborhood that has hung lighted garland on our balcony rail. New Year's Day is the big holiday here. Almost like our 4th of July - picnics, cook-outs, pool parties, fireworks. 


Yes, I did mention UFOs in the title.  A few weeks ago Jo-burg hosted a weekend long UFO convention. A week or so before the convention Jon got a call that came straight through to his desk, which is unusual because you would have to know his extension.  The caller asked if he could buy communication space on one of Intelsat's satellite.  Jon asked what his need was to be able to refer him to the right sales person.  The man explained that he had been in communication with aliens on Mars for several years, planning for them to come and retrieve him from Earth and take him back to Mars.  He needed satellite communication abilities to coordinate with his alien friends for his final extraction time and place.  Jon asked if this was some sort of prank but the caller ensured him it wasn't. Jon politely explained he couldn't help him.  (Begin humming the tune from the Twilight Zone)

Happy Holidays to All-  Jon and Jody